Day's End

6

In the morning, he woke to the smell of coffee and got out of bed, tired, having slept badly, and went in the living room where Gabi was preparing breakfast. She placed a bowl of oatmeal before him and filled his coffee cup. She sat opposite him, looking at him closely.

"You look pale. Do you feel well?"

"Slept badly." He smiled at her, wanting to spend as much of their remaining time with her as he could, and knowing he couldn't tell her what he had discovered.

"Call Amelia if you're not well."

"I will, darling." He began to eat.

Joss called out of work and went to the University of Hemmler. He prowled the halls, looking for one of the senior physicists or astrophysicists he'd studied with, and finally found Dr. Gord Clemson in his office. He knocked on the door.

Gord looked up. "Hello. Do I know you?"

"Yes, Dr. Clemson. I'm Joss Anders. I was in your astrophysics classes about ten years ago. May I talk with you?"

Clemson nodded at the second seat in his office. Joss sat down and rubbed his sweaty hands on his slacks.

Clemson opened a file on his computer. "I remember you now. You were one of the most brilliant celestial navigators I ever taught. Why didn't you go to grad school? You could be a senior navigator on the orbital shuttles. Top of the ringworld."

Joss nodded. "I did well in my classes on physics and astrophysics but came in second in celestial navigation by a few points. Enough to get a second-class degree. "

Clemson said, "Those classes were with Mel Stratton."

Joss nodded. "My parents couldn't afford the fees without the scholarship, so I took a job."

"What are you doing?" Clemson waited patiently for the answer.

"I'm general manager of the Hemmler Section Recycling Plant."

"Important work, but well within your abilities." Clemson said. He shut off the PC. "I see you were offered a position as Junior Tech Manager with the Space Agency. Why didn't you accept?"

Joss swallowed. That position was working for some of Stratton's favorites, who would have expected him to do most of the navigation and planning.

"I would have worked with some of my old classmates, and I wanted to put Uni behind me. I like my work at Recycling. My best friend, Renny, works with me. A woman I dated got marriage and child licenses, and we married."

"Congratulations," Clemson's face softened. "I am glad for you. Those licenses are harder to get every year. Do you have the child yet?"

"No, no, he's due in about six months."

"Congratulations again. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Joss blinked. He hardly knew where to begin. Clemson was a brilliant physicist and a shrewd observer of people. Hard to fool.

He looked down, out the window and then at Clemson. "I keep up with physics and my old studies. The past few months life on Anela has changed, not for the better, and continues to spiral down. Crops are down, weather is erratic, the birthrate is down, along with reduced population, people are losing jobs." He hesitated. "The Nightshield fragments are passing closer to the Ring." He hesitated. "I've done the calculations. In nineteen months and one week, give or take a few hours, the CX-2 shield fragment will crash into the Ring."

Both men were silent. Clemson got up, closed his office door, and sat down.

"I've run the numbers repeatedly. No error."

"What do you want from me?"

"I don't know!" Joss said. "I'm newly married with a child and the world will end when he is ten or eleven months old. Maybe." Joss lowered his head. "Maybe you could check my calculations."

Clemson leaned forward and took Joss's had. "I don't need to. The shield will crash into Anela but at least a day sooner than you think." Joss stared at him, silent. "Not what you wanted to hear."

"The Government knows, then?"

Clemson nodded. "It's the main reason for the lowered birthrate. The problems caused by the shields are getting worse."

Joss put his face in his hands. "So that's our future."

"Maybe. The Government has made plans and you may be able to join them?"

"What plans? How can they help?"

"The old starships left behind are in the process of being refitted for space."

Joss stared. He'd never thought of such a thing. "Can they do that?"

Clemson nodded. "It's doable, but time is short. The Government is putting out a call for crew in a few days. Pilots, navigators, all the departments."

"I'm not qualified for any of those."

"You can be. It will be a lot of work, but I am tutoring a few students, capable like you. If you want, you can join us. When testing comes for the ship crew, you will have a fighting chance. No experience on the orbital shuttles, but I remember you as remarkably good at navigation. Will you accept?"

Joss nodded, then said, "Yes. When do we start?"

"Two nights from now. There's more. I've got to report this conversation to the Government handling the project. If you mention anything at all about the shields falling to Earth, you, and anyone you tell, will disappear. You will have no chance to join a starship. Understand?"

"I do, and I accept." Joss felt a thrill of hope for the first time in hours. "What is the plan for the starships?"

"Each starship can carry six to eight thousand crew and passengers. The selected people will board and leave for the Solon Confederation. We received an old communication several years ago. The war is over, and the Confederation wanted to know if the ring survived. If you find them, we hope they will help us evacuate. If that does not happen, the ships will look for a habitable planet."

Joss eyes closed and he waited till he calmed. He opened his eyes. "Would I be allowed to bring my wife and child and our family? And my wife's family?"

"Crew family, within limits, will be given transport. I'm sorry. Cutoff age is 40. Dr. Amelia Oregon has a specialist position."

"I have a friend, Renny, who is one of the best recycling managers. He would be useful on a starship."

"He can apply."

The two men talked for several hours. Government agents arrived and interviewed Joss. They approved his study with Clemson, warned him about talking about the collision, and left.

Clemson said, "That's all for today. I'll see you here in two nights. Seven o'clock."

Joss said, "Thank you. I'll be here."

"One other thing." Joss nodded.

"Stratton moved to a Government position several years ago. He won't affect anyone's chances for crew."

"Thank you, Dr. Clemson, thank you very much."